How to Load a Bitmap from a Resource (Direct2D)

As described in How to Load a Bitmap from a File, Direct2D uses the Windows Imaging Component (WIC) to load bitmaps. To load a bitmap from a resource, use WIC objects to load the image and to convert it to a Direct2D-compatible format; then, use the CreateBitmapFromWicBitmap method to create an ID2D1Bitmap.

1. In the application resource definition file, define the resource. The following example defines a resource named "SampleImage".

   // THIS CODE AND INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF
   // ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
   // THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A
   // PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
   //
   // Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved
   #include "windows.h"
   
   SampleImage Image "sampleImage.jpg"
   

This resource will be added to the application's resource file when the application is built.

2. Load the image from the application resource file.

   HRESULT DemoApp::LoadResourceBitmap(
       ID2D1RenderTarget *pRenderTarget,
       IWICImagingFactory *pIWICFactory,
       PCWSTR resourceName,
       PCWSTR resourceType,
       UINT destinationWidth,
       UINT destinationHeight,
       ID2D1Bitmap **ppBitmap
       )
   {
       IWICBitmapDecoder *pDecoder = NULL;
       IWICBitmapFrameDecode *pSource = NULL;
       IWICStream *pStream = NULL;
       IWICFormatConverter *pConverter = NULL;
       IWICBitmapScaler *pScaler = NULL;
   
       HRSRC imageResHandle = NULL;
       HGLOBAL imageResDataHandle = NULL;
       void *pImageFile = NULL;
       DWORD imageFileSize = 0;
   
       // Locate the resource.
       imageResHandle = FindResourceW(HINST_THISCOMPONENT, resourceName, resourceType);
       HRESULT hr = imageResHandle ? S_OK : E_FAIL;
       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
           // Load the resource.
           imageResDataHandle = LoadResource(HINST_THISCOMPONENT, imageResHandle);
   
           hr = imageResDataHandle ? S_OK : E_FAIL;
       }
   

3. Lock the resource and calculate the image's size.

       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
           // Lock it to get a system memory pointer.
           pImageFile = LockResource(imageResDataHandle);
   
           hr = pImageFile ? S_OK : E_FAIL;
       }
       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
           // Calculate the size.
           imageFileSize = SizeofResource(HINST_THISCOMPONENT, imageResHandle);
   
           hr = imageFileSize ? S_OK : E_FAIL;
   
       }
   

4. Use the IWICImagingFactory::CreateStream method to create an IWICStream object.

       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
             // Create a WIC stream to map onto the memory.
           hr = pIWICFactory->CreateStream(&pStream);
       }
       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
           // Initialize the stream with the memory pointer and size.
           hr = pStream->InitializeFromMemory(
               reinterpret_cast<BYTE*>(pImageFile),
               imageFileSize
               );
       }
   

5. Use the IWICImagingFactory::CreateDecoderFromStream method to create an IWICBitmapDecoder.

       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
           // Create a decoder for the stream.
           hr = pIWICFactory->CreateDecoderFromStream(
               pStream,
               NULL,
               WICDecodeMetadataCacheOnLoad,
               &pDecoder
               );
       }
   

6. Retrieve a frame from the image and store it in an IWICBitmapFrameDecode object.

       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
           // Create the initial frame.
           hr = pDecoder->GetFrame(0, &pSource);
       }
   

7. Before Direct2D can use the image, it must be converted to the 32bppPBGRA pixel format. To convert the image format, use the IWICImagingFactory::CreateFormatConverter method to create an IWICFormatConverter object, then use the IWICFormatConverter object's Initialize method to perform the conversion.

        if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
        {
            // Convert the image format to 32bppPBGRA
            // (DXGI_FORMAT_B8G8R8A8_UNORM + D2D1_ALPHA_MODE_PREMULTIPLIED).
            hr = pIWICFactory->CreateFormatConverter(&pConverter);
        }

       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
        {           
        hr = pConverter->Initialize(
            pSource,
            GUID_WICPixelFormat32bppPBGRA,
            WICBitmapDitherTypeNone,
            NULL,
            0.f,
            WICBitmapPaletteTypeMedianCut
            );

8. Finally, use the CreateBitmapFromWicBitmap method to create an ID2D1Bitmap object that can be drawn by a render target and used with other Direct2D objects.

       if (SUCCEEDED(hr))
       {
           //create a Direct2D bitmap from the WIC bitmap.
           hr = pRenderTarget->CreateBitmapFromWicBitmap(
               pConverter,
               NULL,
               ppBitmap
               );
   
       }
   
       SafeRelease(&pDecoder);
       SafeRelease(&pSource);
       SafeRelease(&pStream);
       SafeRelease(&pConverter);
       SafeRelease(&pScaler);
   
       return hr;
   }
   

Some code has been omitted from this example.

Related topics

How to Load a Bitmap from a File